Time is a pretty epic subject and Finland's Wintersun try to do it justice on their second album, Time I. There are basically three songs on the album, the shortest clocking in at over eight minutes (not counting a couple of shorter instrumentals) so they certainly cover epic in the song length department. Musically, Time I is VERY symphonic and combines the melody and orchestration of Nightwish with the sprawling, forlorn feel of While Heaven Wept. Vocals are mostly clear with occasional extreme shouts and rasps interspersed while the tempo is mainly mid-paced with only a few double-kicks here and there. Guitars, bass and even drums all take a backseat to the keyboards, but manage to make themselves heard.

I really enjoy the melodies and bombastic flourishes on Time I, many of which had me raising my fist in the air. But what starts out exciting often bogs down over the course of each track. The songwriting just isn't catchy enough to carry my interest for the whole song. Even the instrumentals, two and four minutes respectively, get crushed under the weight of their own repetitiveness. If you like huge, symphonic Metal, strap yourself in for a ride that has some adrenaline highs but may also feel longer than its 40 minutes implies.